Retaining wall constructed using sandbags

ABSTRACT

A retaining wall structure to support a slope comprises courses of vertically adjacent sandbags forming a wall face. The sandbags of each course are positioned adjacent to each other side to side along their lengths, rather than their widths, so as to extend at about a right angle from the slope being supported. Interconnecting members for connecting the sandbags together are positioned between adjacent courses in a staggered arrangement. The structure provides a wall face that is relatively deep and has a high density of sandbags.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention pertains to retaining walls made of sandbags.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Retaining walls are used in a wide variety of civil engineering andlandscaping applications, for example to support slopes and embankmentsfor highways, support noise barriers, prevent erosion along waterways,etc. Retaining walls are commonly made having a support face structuremade of interconnecting blocks with soil or other fill material placedand compacted in back of the wall, and generally with sheets of geogridlaid in the fill at various levels, extending back from the wall andattached to it.

International Patent Publication No. WO 00/61880 published Oct. 19, 2000discloses a system of building retaining walls from sandbags which usesinterconnecting members to attach the sandbags in adjacent courses toeach other so as to stabilize and strengthen the sandbag wall structure,permitting the construction of permanent retaining wall structures. Theinterconnecting members are plates having projections on both sidesthereof that protrude into horizontally and vertically adjacentsandbags. Optionally, sheets of geogrid may be attached to theinterconnecting members to extend at selected courses into the fillmaterial supported by the sandbags in order to help stabilize the filland anchor the sandbag structure to the fill.

The cost and labor involved in the construction of sandbag retainingwalls could be reduced if the wall could be made without the need toexcavate in back of the wall face and to use backfill and geogrid. Suchwalls would be particularly useful if they could be utilized for theretention of steep slopes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a retaining wall structure having a wall faceconstructed of sandbags connected together by means of interconnectingmembers, with the sandbags in the courses of the wall laid side to sidealong their lengths so as to form a relatively deep wall face with ahigher density of sandbags than would be used in a conventional sandbagwall.

The retaining wall structure is made using sandbags which have a lengththat is greater than their width. Vertically-adjacent courses ofsandbags form the wall face, the sandbags within the courses beingpositioned adjacent to one another along their lengths such that one endof each sandbag forms part of an inner side of the wall face adjacent tothe slope being supported and the opposite end of the sandbag forms apart of the outer side of the wall face. Interconnecting members arepositioned between the vertically-adjacent courses to connect thesandbags to sandbags of vertically-adjacent courses. The interconnectingmembers along a given course of sandbags alternate between a positionthat is proximate to the inner side of the wall face and a position thatis proximate to the outer side of the wall face.

The invention also provides a retaining wall structure in which thesandbags in at least one course of sandbags are positioned adjacent toone another side to side along their lengths, as described above, andone or more vertically adjacent courses comprises sandbags that arepositioned adjacent to one another end to end, along their widths.Interconnecting members are positioned between the vertically adjacentcourses to connect the sandbags of each course to the verticallyadjacent courses. The interconnecting members along a given such coursealternate between a position proximate to the inner side of the wallface and a position proximate to its outer side.

The wall structures of the invention are strong and stable and usefulfor retaining steep slopes. They do not require the use of geogrid.

The term “sandbag” as used herein means a bag containing any “fillmaterial.” “Fill material” means any material that is suitable for usein bags in the construction of walls, including sand, soil, gravel, drymix concrete (which hardens after wetting and curing) and mixturesthereof, including fill material with seeds for vegetation. For furtherclarity, the term “sandbag” is not limited to a bag in which the fillmaterial is sand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view through a retaining wall according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a course of sandbags of theretaining wall with interconnecting members in their positions.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the wall showing aninterconnecting member in position between vertically adjacent courses.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a retaining wall accordingto second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a retaining wall structure 10 according tothe invention is constructed on ground 12 and has a wall face 14supporting slope 20. The wall face comprises a plurality of courses 18of sandbags 16. The wall structure is preferably laid generallyhorizontally, though it may follow the contour of the ground asrequired. The courses 18 of the wall face are laid one above the otherconforming to the slope 20, which may vary from a gradual slope to asubstantially vertical one, depending on the particular application. Thesandbags of vertically-adjacent courses are preferably positioned in astaggered arrangement, i.e. so that each sandbag in a course rests ontwo horizontally-adjacent sandbags in the vertically-adjacent lowercourse, as seen in FIG. 4. The courses 18 of the wall face are“vertically-adjacent” in the sense that they are generally one above theother, so as to form a wall having a height, though not necessarily, ortypically, forming a vertical wall, as a wall having some slope isgenerally preferred. The vertically-adjacent courses are thereforetypically offset somewhat relative to each other, as seen in FIG. 1.

Sandbags 16 have a width W and length L, the length being greater thanthe width, and opposed ends 11, 13 and opposed sides 15, 17. The sandbagis typically closed at one end 11 or 13 with a suitable tie (not shown)to hold in the fill material therein.

The sandbags are preferably made of a geotextile material that isdurable and permits water to flow into and through the bags, andseedlings to grow out, while retaining fine soil particles within thebag. The material of the bags should not be biodegradable, fordurability of the wall. The sandbags may contain plant seeds so that aplant cover can be grown on the exterior of the wall face.

Interconnecting members 22 are used in the construction of the retainingwall 10. Interconnecting member 22 comprises a plate 24, preferablyrectangular and planar in shape, with a plurality of projections 26, 27extending from the upper and the lower sides respectively of the plate.Projections 26, 27 are sufficiently strong and pointed to protrude intothe sandbags. Interconnecting member 22 is preferably made of plasticsor aluminum or other non-corrodible material. Preferred dimensions ofthe interconnecting member are about 286 millimeters in length, 100millimeters in width and 42 millimeters in height (including theprojections). Generally, the interconnecting members may be of the typesdescribed in International Publication No. WO 00/61880 dated Oct. 19,2000.

The sandbags in each course 18 are positioned at about a right angle tothe slope that is being reinforced. They are laid adjacent to oneanother along their lengths, i.e. with sides 15, 17 of adjacent sandbagsabutting each other. The outer side 30 of the wall face 14 isaccordingly formed of ends 11 of the sandbags, and the inner side 32 ofthe wall face 14 is formed of the opposed ends 13 of the sandbags. Thewall face is accordingly deeper and has a higher density of sandbagsthan a sandbag wall constructed with the sandbags laid end to end, inwhich the thickness of the wall face is defined by the width of the bagsrather than by their lengths.

When a course of sandbags is placed on top of a lower course and oninterconnecting members 22 positioned thereon, the projections 26 on theupper side of the plate protrude into the sandbags in the upper course,and the weight of such sandbags presses the interconnecting members sothat the projections 27 on their lower side protrude fully into thesandbags in the lower course. The projections 26, 27 can be configuredto fully penetrate the sandbags, or, preferably, to simply indent them.In either case, the projections are considered to “protrude” into thesandbags.

Interconnecting members 22 are of a size and configuration such that,when a member 22 is placed over a portion of two abutting sandbagswithin a course, some of the projections 27 on the lower side of theplate will protrude into each of the two horizontally abutting sandbags,connecting them together, and when a sandbag is placed on top of suchplate, i.e. in laying a vertically-adjacent upper course, projections 26on the upper side of the member will protrude into that sandbag,attaching the upper sandbag to the two lower sandbags. Thus, theinterconnecting members attach both horizontally and vertically adjacentsandbags at the same time.

The interconnecting members 22 are preferably positioned in a staggeredmanner on each course, as best seen in FIG. 3. Along each course, everysecond interconnecting member is positioned proximate to the outer side30 of the wall face, i.e. between the outer side 30 and the lateralcenter line of the sandbags, and the alternating interconnecting membersare positioned proximate to the inner side 32 of the wall face, i.e.between the inner side 32 and the lateral center line of the sandbags.This arrangement increases the strength and stability of the wall face.

In another embodiment of the retaining wall of the invention, a course18 of sandbags that are laid side to side along their lengths is used inconjunction with other courses of sandbags that are laid end to end.Referring to FIG. 5, retaining wall 40 comprises a course 18 of sandbags16 laid side to side along their lengths between a vertically-adjacentlower course 42 and a vertically adjacent upper course 44, both of whichcomprise sandbags 16 laid end to end. The wall 40 includes additionalcourses of sandbags laid in the orientation of course 18 or theorientation of courses 42, 44, to a height required for a particularapplication. In retaining wall 40, the inner side of the wall face isnot even, as the sandbags in course 18 extend further into the slope 20than the sandbags of courses 42, 44, so some fill may be used in back ofcourses 42, 44. Interconnecting members are positioned along each courseto attach together the horizontally-adjacent sandbags within each courseand the vertically-adjacent sandbags of the adjacent courses. Theinterconnecting members are positioned in a staggered arrangementsimilar to the one described above, with every second interconnectingmember positioned proximate to the outer side 46 of the wall face andalternating ones positioned proximate to the inner side 48. It will beunderstood that the latter interconnecting members are positionedproximate to the inner side of the sandbags of courses 42, 44 so as tofully engage the sandbags that are positioned end to end.

While exemplary embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled inthe art will recognize that various modifications thereof may be made.For example, the interconnecting members can be of any shape andconfiguration that is suitable for connecting sandbags in a particularapplication. It is intended that the following appended claims areinterpreted to include all such modifications as are within their truescope.

1. A retaining wall structure made using sandbags which have a lengthand a width and opposed ends, said length being greater than said width,said retaining wall structure forming a wall face of a slope,comprising: (a) vertically-adjacent courses of said sandbags formingsaid wall face, said sandbags within said courses being positionedadjacent to one another side to side along their said lengths such thatone said end of each said sandbag forms part of an inner side of saidwall face adjacent said slope and said opposed end of said sandbag formsa part of an outer side of said wall face; and (b) interconnectingmembers positioned between said vertically-adjacent courses to connectsaid sandbags of said courses to sandbags of vertically-adjacent saidcourses such that adjacent said interconnecting members along a givensaid course alternate between a position proximate to said inner side ofsaid wall face and a position proximate to said outer side of said wallface.
 2. A retaining wall structure made using sandbags which have alength and a width and opposed ends, said length being greater than saidwidth, said retaining wall structure forming a wall face of a slope,comprising: (a) vertically-adjacent courses of said sandbags formingsaid wall face; (b) one said course comprising sandbags positionedadjacent to one another side to side along their said lengths such thatone said end of each said sandbag of said course forms part of an innerside of said wall face adjacent said slope and said opposed end of saidsandbag forms a part of an outer side of said wall face; (c) said courseof paragraph (a) being vertically adjacent to a lower course and to anupper course, each of said lower and upper courses comprising sandbagspositioned adjacent to one another end to end along their said widthssuch that a side of each said sandbag of said upper course and of saidlower course forms part of an inner side of said wall face adjacent saidslope and an opposed side of said sandbag forms a part of an outer sideof said wall face; (d) interconnecting members positioned between saidvertically-adjacent courses to connect said sandbags of said courses tosandbags of vertically-adjacent said courses such that adjacent saidinterconnecting members along a given said course alternate between aposition proximate to said inner side of said wall face and a positionproximate to said outer side of said wall face.
 3. A retaining wallstructure according to claim 1 wherein said interconnecting member is aplate having an upper side and a lower side, each said side having aplurality of projections thereon, said plate being capable of extendingacross at least part of two adjacent sandbags in one said course withsaid projections on said upper side or said lower side protruding intosaid two adjacent sandbags.
 4. A retaining wall structure according toclaim 2 wherein said interconnecting member is a plate having an upperside and a lower side, each said side having a plurality of projectionsthereon, said plate being capable of extending across at least part oftwo adjacent sandbags in one said course with said projections on saidupper side or said lower side protruding into said two adjacentsandbags.
 5. A retaining wall structure according to claim 1 whereinsaid sandbags are made of geotextile.
 6. A retaining wall structureaccording to claim 1 further comprising plants on said outer side ofsaid wall face growing from said sandbags.
 7. A retaining wall structureaccording to claim 2 further comprising plants on said outer side ofsaid wall face growing from said sandbags.